Middle School Social Studies: Resources for Students, Teachers and Parents

History, geography and culture resources of all kinds can be found online. Whether you are a student looking for a way to help you remember the countries of the world, a teacher interested in engaging new lessons that can inspire your class, or a parent wanting to help your child understand important historical eras, you’ll find everything you need in the Middle School Social Studies Web guide.

There are so many fantastic social studies resources online that your biggest problem may be choosing which to use in your classroom. Whether your class is studying ancient cultures or following the election process, you’ll find great teaching resources for middle school social studies using the sites below.

Don’t get fooled into paying for resources. Museums, government entities, universities and well-known broadcast media all offer excellent resources at no charge. A great example is the Library of Congress “Teachers” Web site, which links to lessons, documents and even a game or two.

Many popular news publications and networks, such as Time For Kids and CNN.com, offer online content designed for students. Their Web sites provide lesson plans, activities and worksheets for teachers based on current articles.

PBS
devotes a section of its top-notch Web site to social studies teachers. Choose a grade level to find several thoughtful lesson plans, some of which allow you to contact the lesson’s author. Many lessons are accompanied by printable copy masters.

EDSITEment
is hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities and offers interesting lessons that can supplement your content. Search by grade level and subject. Use the “Websites” tab to find sites rather than lesson plans.

SCORE
provides a searchable database of lesson plans organized by grade, title, keyword and California History/Social Science Standards. Also find a wealth of student-generated material that could be used to provide examples for your students. This site is best suited for California teachers but it can be quite useful for teachers in other states, too.

ReadingQuest
provides engaging reading strategies and activities that can help your students get more from what they’re reading. The pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies help you get your students active in the reading process and on the road to better comprehension.

The Library of Congress
presents ”America’s Story from America’s Library,” a site focused on American history using primary sources. Most of the activities involve sound so be sure that your students have headphones if they’re browsing this page in class. Don’t miss the feature that helps students find historical events that happened on their birthdays.

Kathi Mitchell
has been teaching elementary school for more than 30 years. Visit this section of her Web site to find a great list of social studies “WebQuests” (Web-based, inquiry-focused activities) that are engaging and informative.